Thank You Charlotte

Thank you Charlotte

Vettel Jr, DR3

Hello! I had this idea for a few days and I finally did it! but let’s just imagine Seb is in his early 40s

pairing: Daniel Ricciardo x Sebastian Vettel’s daughter 

word count: 4.8k 

warning: age gap (she is about 22 and Daniel is 31), Texan Dan, a kiss

other characters: Charles Leclerc, Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton, Toto Wolff, Carlos Sainz, Christian Horner

synopsis: Seb’s daughter is a respectful young lady who studies in Harvard med school and she is a big Danny Ric fan, she finally decides to check out US Grand Prix to catch a glimpse of her favorite driver.

She pulled into the parking lot in her light blue Mercedes SL190 that for sure got the attention of Toto Wolff who was just passing by. She was not known widely, the eyes of the spectators nearby were fixed on the car, and some of them took out their phones to take a picture. 

“Always up for a showoff, I can’t believe you had the car moved here only for one race” 

She laughed happily, her hand landing on his shoulder “dad live a little, not all of us has a chance of getting Aston Martin for free anywhere we go” 

“What do you mean? You’re my daughter of course you do” 

She rolled her eyes at him “sure whatever lets you sleep at night, Mr. Vettel” 

“Really? You matched your dress with the car?”

“Dad! How could you? Bold words from someone who owns a closet full of F1 teams merch” 

“Ouch, not seeing your family has made you sassier” 

She was away for most of her life, successfully convincing her dad to send her away for education, the dream of becoming a doctor was too big to let go so she sacrificed a great deal of her life for it, and finally made it into Harvard. It broke her heart how many races she had missed due to the tight schedule of school or college, but seeing one specific driver named Daniel Ricciardo during Austin last year, she thought she couldn’t miss this one for the world. She tried to make it so subtle, but Daniel being her favorite driver all these years, it was no brainer for Sebastian why she suddenly wanted to tag along. She was busy looking around, people in orange and red shirts standing out more than others, her eyes scanning the paddock for any driver, as much she just wanted to see Daniel, she still wanted to meet every single driver. 

“Did you hear what I just said?” Seb sounded done, it hasn’t been too long and he was already done with his daughter.

“Sorry, dad did you say something?” She gave him a sweet smile trying to seem innocent. 

“I said we will start from the beginning” he pointed to the Mercedes garage “and we go forward, good?” 

Her happiness was impeccable “works just fine! But can we please walk through the pit lane?”

“You just wanna see Daniel huh?” 

“Dad don’t tease me, I’m a fan you know it” 

He laughed and pulled her to his side, kissing her forehead lovingly “alright alright we’ll go there” 

She always loved the black/white aesthetic their shirts had. The crew was moving around, some eyes caught them but no one made an action except one. Toto Wolff made his way out of the garage to greet the pair. 

“You made quite a scene with that classic Mercedes” he spoke with his thick accent. 

“I did, didn’t I? That car is a beauty” 

“Couldn’t agree more, I own one too, silver” 

“Seb, hey man” all heads turned to the voice of Lewis Hamilton.

“Good, finally you’re here, Toto was ignoring me” 

“Don’t take it personal Seb, it’s nice to see someone appreciates classic cars” 

Lewis turned to the young girl who was staring at him eagerly, the fangirl inside her was pushing to come out “look at you, you’ve grown up so much, come here” the pair shared a hug that the cameras around for sure didn’t miss it. She remembers meeting him back in the days when she was just a child. 

“So if you both excuse us, we have 19 more teams to visit” 

“Busy day ahead huh?” He turned towards her “You should come by more, you know to double the motivation” 

With another laugh, they made their way towards Redbull. 

They stopped in front of the garage, Max turned his head and made his way towards them with a smile. She did a little jump at the sight of him. Both drivers exchanged a short greeting and a bro hug. She took a deep breath and spoke “hi” Max turned to her “hello if it wasn’t for your father keeping you hidden for all these years I would’ve known who you are” 

Both laughed at what Max said

 “But you have heard of me” 

“I have, good to see you, feel free to join us we have free Redbull” 

“Nah Max she is here for someone else” 

She jokingly slapped his shoulder “don’t expose me like that” 

“No no let him finish, Seb go on” 

He giggled before replying “she is here for Daniel” 

“Oh” he started laughing “oh no don’t tell him that, his ego would go off the roof” 

“Hey he isn’t that egoistic” 

“Seb look at her already defending Daniel” 

Seb faked a disappointment and shook his head “I can’t believe this is my daughter” 

“Who isn’t that egotistic?” 

“Charles, mate welcome, come here Seb and I would appreciate another teammate” 

She didn’t need Max to mention the name to know the voice belongs to Charles, her eyes immediately grew bigger, he was good, just too good, his red shirt suits him like red was made for him, his sunglasses resting on the edge on his shirt. She blinked once, twice, her brain couldn’t comprehend how a human being could look like that. 

“Do I have something on my face?” Charles asked, keeping eye contact. 

Max felt like he was exploding, she was too adorable, he noticed the way she was staring.

“No no, just wow, you ever heard of the lady in red?” 

“The song right?” 

“Yes that one, you’re like the gentleman in red” 

Charles giggled “well thank you lady in blue I appreciate the compliment” 

If looks could kill, Charles would be dead because Sebastian was throwing daggers at him. Max couldn’t keep the comment to himself “oh Charles you’re getting a DNF today” 

“What? Why?” His eyes traveled between them until the realization hit him. 

“Seb, mate I- I’m sorry I didn’t know-“ 

“Relax Charles I might only break your front wing don’t worry” 

A breeze blew her hair and the sun caught the gold earrings, Max smiled as soon as he saw them, he was having too much fun teasing her and judging based on the way she was acting, but she wasn’t too offended by it. 

“Is that number 3 in your ears? “ 

Her hands immediately pushed her hair further into her face to hide her ears “no it’s not” 

“but it is” 

“I can also confirm that it is” Charles leaned in to whisper in Max’s ear “what am I missing?” 

Max whispered back very subtly “she is a Daniel fan” 

Charles pulled away, eyes flickering to Seb “oh poor Seb” 

Seb sighs “Charles don’t I know” 

“Girl you’re fully obsessed” for a moment Max thought he has gone too far. 

“Guys cmon, it’s just an earring and a number, I’m not that obsessed with Daniel Ricciardo” 

“Yes, and that’s Daniel’s number”

“Yes but it’s also 33, so your number” 

“Sweetheart don’t tell me you don’t have a poster of his win in Monaco hanged in your dorm” 

She turned to her dad “dad you too?”

Daniel parked his big white Tahoes and got off the car. As soon he entered the main area the screams became ear-splitting, he turned his head towards the crowd and tipped his hat, smiling wide. Austin felt like his third home. He loved the attention. On his way to the McLaren garage, he was stopped by a few reporters. He could clearly see how suddenly the number of photographers and cameramen had doubled, he even spotted George taking pics. 

“Daniel! Up here” 

He looked up, waving at the fans standing on the balcony.

He shoot them a smile and put on his best Texan accent “howdy y’all” he picked up the hats and shoes people threw at him to sign, successfully throwing them back. He continued his walk in the paddock, all eyes were on him. Daniel was glowing with confidence in his tight black pants, orange jersey with his number printed on it, and big Texan belt. 

His ears prickled as he heard his name being mentioned in that sentence from the small crowd consisting of Max, Charles, Seb and a girl he assumed was Seb’s daughter in front of Redbull garage. He knew Seb had a daughter, and she was away in the US but that was all, he had no idea she is a fan of him. Charles looked up and caught his eyes, signaling him not to make a noise.  While Max couldn’t stop teasing her, Charles’ eyes caught Daniel, he was just in time to signal him not to make a sound. When she turned to Seb, he elbowed Max to look up. 

Max looked up, Daniel mouthed “what’s happening?” 

Max pointed at her, drew a heart on air, and then pointer at Daniel. A smile broke on his face as soon as he realized what was happening. He tried to take his steps without making a noise, she was too deep in conversation to notice. He stood next to her, their shoulder pressed to each other. She was helplessly trying to convince her dad that she wasn’t obsessed with the famous honey badger as much as it seemed when she felt a warmth next to her. She slightly turned her head to see who it was and she went speechless. It was him, it was Daniel fucking Ricciardo. 

Her brain was completely shut down when she saw him, the way he looked immediately brought a light blush to her cheeks, she couldn’t believe she finally got to see this version of him up close. The orange jersey brought out his skin tan and gave a fantastic view of his well-built hands, his tattoos plastered across his gorgeous skin and she could swear her hand was twitching to run her finger on his astronaut tattoo. She shamelessly let her eyes look him up and down, she blushed harder and gulped, suddenly feeling thirsty. He was beyond attractive up close, her eyes met his and she was lost, her head subconsciously crooked slightly to one side. 

“Look at her Charles she is blushing like crazy” 

Charles laughed hard and managed to tell Max to shut up. 

Daniel waited patiently, he let her watch all she want, he would lie if he said he wasn’t loving the attention she was giving him. 

He couldn’t deny it, she was very cute with that heart-shaped sunglasses and blue sundress. He physically had to contain himself not to touch her blushed cheeks in front of Seb.

He shoots her a smile and lets his hand rest on her small shoulder “hello howdy” 

She almost laughed at his accent.

“Oh my god you’re even better than your pictures” as soon as she realized what she said, she bit her lips. 

“I would’ve said something better back but Seb is throwing me daggers with his eyes, and don’t bite your lips like that, they’ll bleed” his voice was so soft that she could cry then and there.

Daniel watched her looking at Seb exactly the way Seb was looking at him. 

“Don’t mind my dad go ahead. Wait you know me?” 

“Of course I do, you’re Vettel Jr” 

No one in that circle missed the way her eyes sparkled when Daniel said he knew her. 

“Alrighty, the sparkle in your eyes is so bright the sun must be jealous” 

“Oh my god take your hand off my daughter’s shoulder” 

She wasn’t ready for Daniel to take his hand off her shoulder, she was loving the warmth of his body pressed against her side. 

“Dad don’t, this is my ultimate fangirl moment” 

When Daniel heard what she said, he felt good and pulled her to himself, lightly massaging her shoulder, she turned her face to him and smiled wide, taking off the sunglasses and hooking them on her dress. 

“Guys, can I have a group photo please?” One of the photographers asked.

“Sure mate” Daniel replied spinning both of them to face the camera. Seb stood next to Dan, Charles took his place next to her, and Max next to him. 

“Max if you’re done, we have stuff to do, Daniel good to see you ” Christian Horner screamed from the garage. He waved at him with his free hand “right back at you boss” 

“fun is over” Max hugged her “it was nice to see you Vettel Jr, if you stick around I’ll give you a free Redbull” 

“Give me that free Redbull now and I’ll cheer for you if you win” 

Max went into the garage, grabbed a can from the small fridge, and went back.

“Here, I got you a cold one” 

“Hey it’s not fair I want one too” 

“No Daniel you lost your Redbull rights in 2018 mate”

She clapped Max cause of his reply “Maximus, that was a spectacular reply” 

“I thought you were supposed to be on my side” 

“I’m always on your side, Danny” 

“Guys no just stop, you know what I’m going, I’m done, Daniel if you can let go of my daughter I would love to hug her” 

She felt weird as soon as Daniel’s hand dropped off her shoulder. 

She happily hugged her dad “honey don’t flirt too much and don’t let Max feed you too much Redbull” 

“Ok dad, message received” 

“I better go as well” Charles turned to her “it was so great to see you, you must come more” 

“Same gentleman in red, have a good race” 

“Ah it's just me and you now, cmon we will check the rest of the paddock” 

She shielded her eyes with her hand “great Id love that”

“And we will get you a McLaren hat to show your undying unconditional love for me, and of course, the sun won’t bother your eyes”

“I would love that too” 

They stopped momentarily in front of the McLaren garage to check if Lando was around but a small crowd caught their attention.

“Is something wrong there?” 

“I’ll ask” 

When they went in, they noticed people around a mechanic. 

“He doesn’t look good, stay here I’m gonna bring someone from the medical center” 

She put her hand on his arm to stop him, his focus suddenly shifted to her hand on his skin “no need, I’m a physician, just make the way for me and get me a first aid kit?” 

“Sure you got it, follow me” 

He went ahead “guys I got help here please make way”

She took the chair next to the guy, soon a red bag was by her side. 

“Sir how are you feeling?” 

“I- I have trouble breathing and I just feel too hot, but it’s natural, it is too hot” 

She grabbed a stethoscope and a thermometer “we will see about that in a while” she turned to people around her “can someone grab me cold water please?” 

People rushed to get water, meanwhile, she removed his helmet, checked his body temperature and his heartbeat. 

“Here drink this” the man drank the water like he hasn’t seen the sight of it in ages. 

She glanced at Daniel and he stepped forward “I trust you can somehow have a cold bathtub here?” 

He raised his eyebrows “what for?” 

“He is having Hyperthermia, the fastest way is a cold bathtub and water” 

“I’ll tell Zak, consider it done” 

She turned to him with a reassuring smile “it’s hyperthermia, you will be just fine as soon as the cold bathtub is ready, just take off your heavy cloth, for now, rest somewhere far from the sun and direct heat, you’ll be fine in no time” 

The man returned the smile “thank you so much” 

“Don’t mention it, it’s what I do” 

“Wow, just wow, that was amazing, you were amazing” 

She was standing in front of Daniel with a dark blue McLaren cap, she still couldn’t wrap her brain around how good he looked with that beard. Daniel throwing compliments at her was not helping her situation. 

She blushed “please I’m in med school, it’s my job to help” 

“Aww you’re blushing, it’s cute. By the way, where are you coming from?” 

“Massachusetts, Harvard” 

“damn ok smart pants” 

She looked at him, feeling a little shy “so I better go to my dad before he gets worried, thank you for today” 

“You can’t leave without a hug, come here” she couldn’t recall a moment better than this, hugging him was a dream come true and she didn’t pull away, she wanted to savor this moment, the way he crossed his arms at her back to hold her, the way he smells, the way her head was resting on his chest. Daniel didn’t miss the way she hugged him, he didn’t let go. 

“Thanks for being here, and don’t think I didn’t see your number 3 earrings” 

She laughed and finally pulled back “you like them? I got it specifically for today, Max couldn’t stop teasing me about it” 

Before going she stood on his tiptoe and left a kiss on his cheek, his beard burning her lips. She took a mental picture of the way he looked. To say Daniel was stunned was an understatement, he was absolutely speechless. Getting a kiss from a pretty girl was not on his bingo list before a race but most definitely he wasn’t complaining.

“Any reason for this special treat?” 

“Not just a good luck for your race, see you around, Danny” 

He melted by the way she called him Danny, he knew he couldn’t just let her leave like that, he reached and grabbed her by her waist, he felt ballsy so he leaned down and kissed the corner of her mouth, his lips slightly touching hers, he let his lips linger for a mere second before pulling back. It was her turn to be speechless, she just looked up at him and blinked, not quite believing what just happened, she could still feel the burn his beard left behind and for a moment she wanted more. 

Daniel winked at her “just returning the favor, see ya around pretty” 

She smiled at him and started walking away, as soon as Daniel went inside she ran as fast as she could, thankfully the Aston Martin motorhome was right next to the McLaren and she didn’t need to run for so long to reach the driver’s room. She was so impatient when she knocked and waited for her dad to reply, shortly after she heard a come in and she opened the door with intensity. 

“Wow so excited still?” 

She shook her head, her back to the door and her hand covering her mouth to keep the exciting sound she was making silent. 

“Sit and tell me what did you do” 

She sat down and took a deep breath “nothing, what makes you think that?” 

“Cmon I know my own daughter, you wouldn’t be like this over nothing” 

“Ok but the first promise you won’t DNF Daniel?” 

“Just say it” 

“Ok ok fine, I kissed his cheek” the thought of it was enough to make her blush again. 

“And?” Seb raised his eyebrows, waiting for the rest.

“And? What do you mean and? That’s it” 

He just stared as if she said the stupidest thing ever. 

“Fine, he returned it” she couldn’t do it anymore, she hid her face in her hand to have a moment in peace and let her dad get mad, instead he laughed. 

“Does that mean you won’t DNF him?” 

“DNF? I'm gonna push him to the guard rails” 

Sebastian moved and sat next to her, his arm around her, pulling her into a hug,  her head resting on his shoulder. 

“Are you mad at me?” 

“Of course not, you really think that low of me?” 

“No dad I don’t…it’s just…I don’t know” 

She took off her sandal and pressed her legs to her chest, pouting as it hits her she won’t be seeing him again in a long time. 

“You know I think you might like him a little more than you let on” 

She wasn’t that surprised he noticed it, with the way she looked it didn’t take a genius to understand that. 

“What’s the point? I can’t see him until god knows when” she whispered, her voice sad. 

“It will pass ok? Or at least I hope it does” 

“How do you know dad? What if it doesn’t? If it doesn’t I’m fucked up” 

“Honey let’s calm down ok? If it doesn’t it’s fine ok? I’m still here for you we will go through it. Now you wanna sit here and be sad or wanna come with me to the driver’s parade?” 

“Really? I can come?” 

“You’re Sebastian Vettel’s daughter, of course, you can” 

“Dad, can I ask you one more thing?” 

“Sure honey anything” 

“Any chance you could grab me a date with him?” 

“Ok now you’re going too far” 

The driver’s parade looked good, a big truck with all the drivers in one place, she happily crossed one more option in her mental bingo as she stepped into the big area. Everyone standing with big umbrellas that had their team printed. 

She didn’t miss the orange umbrella that belonged to McLaren, hoping Daniel is the one who is holding it. 

“Dad look he is so handsome” 

“I know he’s been my teammate in the past, instead of wasting your time telling me how handsome he is, go and say that to his smug face”

She giggled happily, handed the umbrella to him, and walked toward the man in question. 

Daniel wouldn’t confess it, but he was more than happy to see her on the truck, he wanted to know her more and see her around the race, not only he know it wasn’t possible but he didn’t know when he would see her again. 

The pair stood happily next to each other, Daniel shared the umbrella and let his hand to hold her waist, both were too happy to care about the eyes on them. 

Not further back, the interaction wasn’t missed by the two drivers. 

“They look in love, I actually feel bad now” 

The Monegasque replied “who knows maybe they are, I feel bad too, look at them. They look so fond of each other” 

“Hello, what are we looking at?” Carlos joined them. Charles didn’t answer and simply nodded in their direction. 

“They look cute, since when Daniel get himself a girlfriend?” 

“Don’t tell that to Seb, that’s his daughter” 

“Oh, but they look so good” 

“We know Carlos that’s what we’re saying”

Sebastian’s heart broke for his daughter, she sacrificed her time in her own country and basically her life for the greater good. He couldn’t recall the last time he saw her smiling like that. She deserved happiness and someone who makes her happy, even if that person would’ve been Daniel, as long as she was happy he had no issue with it, in fact, Daniel wasn’t even a bad guy at all. But by the look of it, he knew she had prepared herself to leave everything that happens there behind and go back to her Harvard life. 

His eyes caught Charles next to him who was looking at the same sight as him. In fact, that’s what everyone was looking at. 

“They look so happy together, I haven’t seen her like that since she got the news that she got into Harvard” 

“Is there anything we can do?” Charles asked, he could see what everyone else was seeing, two people looking incredibly happy next to each other and could have a bright future together.

“No, unfortunately, we can’t, she has already made up her mind, there’s no changing it, she knows damn well she will get hurt, and the worst part? I can’t even blame Daniel for that” 

They both laughed at the last part. The parade was coming to an end. 

She stood by the balcony, too happy that she could also sneak a peek into the McLaren garage, more importantly to Daniel.

Drivers were beginning to come out. She caught the sight of Daniel with his racing suit around his waist and his signature headphone, he looked up, saw her, and waved. 

When the race was over she was more than satisfied with the result, Max won, Charles and Daniel got P4 and P5, and her dad P10. She left the balcony to hopefully get to the podium celebration and make Max give her more Redbulls. 

By the time it was done, the weather was starting to get dark. She made her way to the driver’s parking lot, her keys in her hands. She felt a deep sadness in her chest when she couldn’t catch Daniel for one last goodbye and was told he left. 

She looked around and saw two Chevy Tahoe, while she was wondering who was driving these two big boys, Daniel appeared. 

He was glad to see her across from his own car, she was driving the light blue Mercedes SL190 that was the talk of the grid for the day. 

“Hey you, I thought you left” 

“Hey yourself, same, congrats on the result today, you did good” 

“Thank you, not a podium but I’ll take it” 

She walked across the parking lot and stood in front of him. She just needed to feel his presence close before it was all over. 

One look was all she needed to do what she was about to do, as soon as she glanced at his face she knew she had to do it. 

She stood on her tiptoe, her hand grabbing his face and she kissed him, he was surprised but kissed her back, in his mind if she wouldn’t have done it, he certainly would. His hand grabbed the back of her neck, other one went around her waist to pull her closer. The kiss was heavenly, his lips felt so soft against hers. Her hand made its way to his hair, softly tugging at the curls causing him to kiss harder. His tongue slid into her mouth and she welcomed it, she moaned into the kiss due to the intensity, Daniel felt like the last piece of self-control was slipping away. He spin her around and pressed her against the car breaking the kiss to look at her. 

She looked up at him with those eyes and he felt his knees buckled. He pressed his forehead against her, her fingers tracing his beard causing goosebumps to rise on his skin. 

“I’ve wanted to do this since I saw you today”

“What do you think? You like it?”

“Let’s just say is the reason why I even came today, now can we kiss more?”

“Fuck yes we can”

He kissed her more tenderly, lips locking perfectly as their tongue moved perfectly, by each kiss her heart beat louder, loud enough when he kissed her neck, he felt it under his lips and his chest fluttered. He was making out with a girl like her after his race in Austin and at that moment nothing else mattered. He reached and grabbed her hand, intertwining their hands for more physical contact. 

When they finally separated Daniel asked “can’t you stay? Will I see you again?”

“I have a flight tonight, I don’t know I can only hope so”

She gave him a peck for one last time “goodbye Danny, I’ll miss you”

“I’ll miss you too, Vettel Jr, have a safe flight”

She found it too hard to leave him, for one last time she threw her arms around him, he gladly accepted the hug and pulled her close, letting her to rest her head on his chest. In that moment she loved nothing more than holding him close and hearing his rapid heartbeat. 

They both finally made their way to their car, both of them unaware of how much their heart broke over this. 

Daniel sat there, watching her turn on the car and then drive away. 

Only when she was sure she is out of sight she started crying, her heart torn to pieces and it was at that moment she realized, she loved him. 

“Daniel, come in” 

“Sorry for dropping by at this hour”

“No worries, you want a drink?”

“No no I’m all good, I uh needed a favor”

Seb took the sit in front of him “sure go ahead”

“Can you call her please?” It took everything out of him to ask this question but he had no choice. 

“Yes, I will”

She was in the airport, waiting for her flight to get announced when her phone rang.

“Hey dad” she couldn’t help but sniff. 

“Hey honey, I’ll take it you’re waiting for your flight?”

“Yes, I’m at the airport” her voice was sad, Seb knew the reason but there was nothing he could do.

“Are you ok?”

Daniel’s heart dropped when he heard the question, different scenarios running through his head.

“No, but I will be, don’t worry”

“Message me when you land will you? I’ll try to come by in the next few days, sounds good?”

“Yes sounds perfect, love you dad”

“Love you too sweetheart”

He was impatient, he knew if something bad had happened Seb wouldn’t be this relaxed but he still needed to know.

“Usually I should be mad at you for breaking her heart, but I am mad at her for breaking yours” 

“No it’s-“ 

“Keep it, Daniel, it’s all over your face. She was at the airport, she said she will be fine so don’t worry, go back to your room and rest, you need it” 

He stood up, shaking hands with him “thank you, Seb means a lot really” 

“Of course” 

During the walk to his room, he knew this one would hurt for so long, and it will take him even longer to get over it.

please tell me if you liked it! I also have an alternative ending where they spend the night together, should I do write that too? 

ch.2

Just listened to Dan’s podcast with Dax and I felt like I received love from people who have no idea about my existence for 1+ hour

Like now I’m at the verge of tears (thanks Daniel) it’s 7 AM and I haven’t slept yet, I heard Daniel fucking Ricciardo saying the words “enchanté” and “sugar daddy” and it’s all good

Ok I’m going to sleep

At this point I really really need McLaren and Daniel to talk things out and get to the conclusion that what’s going to happen next year because I’m so tired of all these “predictions” that Daniel won’t be in lineup or whatever the fuck people are saying. Yes I know his contract is by the end of 2023 but I still need McLaren to say the contract is valid and whatever Zak said was bullshit.

I just think it’s so tiring for us as a fan to keep seeing speculations, anytime I see something like that my stomach drops, I NEED AN ANSWER😩

Vettel Jr, (2/3)

sooo finally chapter 2 is here (chapter 1 here) 

I hope you guys enjoy it!

warning: smut, age gap

word count: 4.1k 

Sebastian was having a very calm breakfast when Max sat down in front of him, they just stared at each other questionably.

“What are you doing at my table?”

At that moment Charles joined them “good morning guys”

“You too? I just wanna eat my breakfast in peace, piss off you two”

“Seb relax we’re not here for you”

“Yeah Max is right”

Seb sipped his coffee “she isn’t here, her flight was last night”

Two men exchanged a glance.

“Then-“ Max started speaking but didn’t dare to finish the sentence.

“What about Daniel? That’s not up to me she has made her decision, Daniel is fine with it”

“I literally don’t do what to say” the breakfast in front of Charles didn’t seem as delicious as before.

Max still needed more information “Daniel is fine with it? What’s that supposed to mean?”

Seb picked a piece of bacon “he came over to my room last night, asked me to check on her”

“And you didn’t do anything?” Max was to determine to try and make something happen.

“You think it didn’t break my heart to see my daughter like that? To hear her crying over the phone? It’s her decision I’m not gonna intervene.”

Max and Charles couldn’t argue anymore, Sebastian was right.

“Ah this coffee tastes so bad, where is Daniel anyway?” Max exclaimed frustrated, looking around searching for a tall Australian, instead he saw Lando walking to the McLaren table alone and called him.

“Do us a favor Lando and tell us where is Daniel” Lando eyed them suspiciously, Ferrari, Redbull and Aston Martin all in one table was quite a sight. Seb looked relax, Charles and Max were looking at him as if their future in F1 rested on this question. He picked a chair and barely fit himself on the small table. Seb sighed and whispered “awesome now there are 3 of them”

“Is this about yesterday? I stopped by his room, he looked wrecked man”

“I’ve spent two years with Daniel and I’ve never seen him this way”

“She’s been my daughter for 22 years and I’ve never seen her this way, I’m actually gonna check on her later”

Lando was quite intrigued by the conversation, looks like the next profession for the trio after they retired from driving gonna be a match making agency.

“You’re flying to Massachusetts?” Charles asked, eying Max and hoping he’d get the message.

“Yes, tomorrow’s morning”

“That’s great, I’m coming with you”

“You’re not coming anywhere Max”

“Come on man, if you won’t talk to her, let me do it”

Seb considered the suggestion for a second, as much as he loved his daughter, he also couldn’t stop his brain from reminding him of last night. Daniel sitting in front of him like a wounded puppy, while her precious daughter was crying over the phone “well because I wouldn’t intervene, doesn’t mean someone else can’t too right?”

Few moments passed in silence until it was broken by Seb, sighing loud “Daniel is not even a bad person, like this human being doesn’t have a bad bone in his entire body”

Charles smirked “so you encourage it?”

“I encourage my daughter’s happiness and if that’s tied to Daniel then yes I fucking encourage it, should’ve gotten her the date she asked for”

Lando who was quiet until then couldn’t keep it “what?”

Seb laughed and continued “yesterday when she came back to my driver’s room, she asked me to grab a date with Daniel for her”

Max and Charles looked at each other in pure disbelief, if only Seb would have done that, they didn’t need to conspire hard.

Charles exclaimed his disappointment “seb, man why would you do that?”

“Yeah he is right, you know what no more free Redbull for you”

“That’s ok I’ll ask Mercedes for free Monster”

Daniel laid in bed, not feeling like leaving it to have breakfast with the team. The memories of last night still fresh in his mind, he didn’t dare to sleep because what if it was all a dream? No it couldn’t be, he could feel his heart breaking, the pain and heartbreak couldn’t be fake, the fact that he couldn’t sleep yet his eyes were begging him to wasn’t fake. As much as he wanted to, he resisted the urge to take a bottle of alcohol and drain himself in misery and sadness. The knock on the door brought him out of his trance, he decided to ignore it, the knock didn’t stop and someone shouted “it’s Lando, open the door”

He grabbed a shirt and opened the door, putting his hands in his short’s pocket and leaned against the door frame, tiredly looking at Lando. In that moment he felt like all his muscles were aching which had nothing to do with yesterday’s race. It was shocking to himself that he was feeling this way towards a girl he saw for only few hours.

“Hey man, oh my god look at you, you ok there?”

Daniel just shook his head and stared at the ground.

“You coming for breakfast?”

He rubbed his eyes in distress “no I think I’m gonna try and sleep for few hours then get to my flight”

“Sure, if you needed anything let me know ok?”

Lando didn’t need to think twice about his condition, almost everyone saw what happened yesterday.

After the worst flight of her life, she got to the dorm after midnight. The entire building was dark and she was more than happy not to run into someone to explain her situation, she was supposed to be happy, a trip to Austin, got a VIP access and met her favorites but in that moment she was everything but happy. The tiredness and heartbreak was too much to handle that she immediately went to bed.

That afternoon her dad was supposed to come so she jumped to the door as soon as the door rang “HEY DAD…wait you’re not dad” she arched her eyebrows at Max.

“Hi” Max said casually, his effort to blend in was appreciated. He was wearing a khaki short with light blue buttoned up, finally ditching that Redbull cap.

Nina, her roommate appeared, staring at the man in front of the door who for sure wasn’t Sebastian Vettel.

“What does the championship contender doing on our doorstep?” She questioned, still staring.

“Uh actually-“

“How about you come in before anyone spots a goddamn F1 driver in Harvard girl’s dorm?”

He noticed the way she was dressed, very far from the way she was yesterday. A short, one of Daniel’s merches, her hair in a bun and she made no afford to hide the number 3 in her ears.

“Don’t give me that look Max, if I can’t have Daniel I’ll take his shirt”

“But-“

“Maxine don’t argue with me”

Max’s eyes accidentally landed on her semi open laptop “drive to survive? Daniel’s episode? Really?”

“But you said you were studying?” Nina questioned, staring at the laptop.

“Oh now there are two of them” she tiredly exclaimed, rubbing her eyes.

Max giggled lightly, she was indeed Sebastian Vettel’s daughter “that’s what your dad said”

“How did you get here so soon anyway? How did you find here? I have questions”

Max turned around and saw the posters on the wall, 8 posters, each pointing at the time Daniel won a Grand Prix. There were some posters when Lewis won the world title and even some of his own wins.

“Seb was right when he said you have a poster of Daniel’s win in your dorm, and to answer your questions private jet and Sebastian Vettel”

He turned and pointed at his own poster “you never mentioned you were my fan? To be honest I’m honored”

“Maximilian focus, why are you here?”

“Guys, as much as I would love to stay and listen in, I have a class and I’m sure you both would appreciate a privacy” Nina interrupted while opening the door.

“You’re the dearest Nina, thanks”

Max spoke again “we have time to talk, now I’m sure you can use a hug” and he opened his arms. She gladly accepted and hugged him back as tight as she could, his hand went up and down on her back to calm her, she rests her head on his biceps.

“How’s Daniel?” She finally dared to ask.

“Not better than you i suppose. Seb told me about last night”

“Last night? I didn’t tell him anything how does he know? Oh my god did someone see us?” She asked, slightly stressed. For sure she wasn’t about to tell Seb about the kiss.

“What? He told me Daniel went to his room to ask him to check on you”

That was some new information. The thought of Daniel going to her dad to ask him check on her made her miss him even more and she almost teared up.

“Oh my god he what? He really did that?”

Max almost laughed at her expression “you look like you just fall in love with him all over again”

She spoke dumbfounded “I actually did, now can we talk about why you are here? Is it because of The honey badger situation?”

She finally let him go and they sat behind the small table, she grabbed two bottles of drinks and sat across him.

“Zero alcohol? You don’t drink alcohol?” Max checked the drinks, slightly disappointed that it’s not alcoholic.

“I do but I try not to, I can’t afford getting hangover, we have alcohol if you want?”

“No no forget it sit down, Which situation were you talking about?”

Since he didn’t know about the kiss, she decided to act clueless “what? I don’t know what you’re talking about”

Max narrowed his blue eyes at her and she gave up, desperately needing to share it with someone, and who’s a better person than Max?

“Fine, fine. That night in parking lot we ran into each other, and I kissed him…well it turned out into a make out session”

In that moment Max realized why Seb kept saying he was done with her “you kissed him first, and you still decided to leave it?”

“Well I had to” she sounded desperate

“Daniel loves you, you know that? He doesn’t care if he had spent time with you only for few hours”

“But how do you know that?” She whined, taking a sip of her drink.

“Anyone who saw you yesterday during driver’s parade knows it, it’s literally no secret” Max answered as if the answer is the most obvious thing ever.

“Listen, I love him, I really do, hell I haven’t felt this way for god knows how long, but my situation is different. I just can’t” she let her face to fall on Max’s hand, she found it interesting how fast they clicked it as friends and how comfortable she was with him.

Max let her rest on his hand and ran his hand on her back “tell me about it, that’s why I’m here”

“I’m a med student, I’m either in a class, studying my ass off in library or running a 36 hour shift in hospital. I don’t have time to be in love”

“Fantastic, see how easy it was? Now go and say the exact same thing to Daniel and watch him to offer his infinite support to you”

She hated how right Max sounded “you didn’t even consider talking to him huh?”

“No because you weren’t supposed to be here, how the fuck he let you come?”

“Let me? He is the one who sent me, well I should give credit to Charles too it was his plan”

“Charles too? All of you ganged up for this?” It was unbelievable, she only spent few hours there and now the entire grid was invested in this.

“Now don’t change the subject”

“But Max-“

“No more buts, at least give it a try, for the sake of both of you, even your dad supports it.”

She sighed “What do you want me to do Maxwell? Cook? Clean? Suck his-“ she slammed her hand to her mouth before the word came out.

Max threw his hand back and laughed, the comment taking him off guard “well if you’re into it and I know Daniel won’t say no”

“Ok now what do you say about taking me karting?” She offered, smiling devilishly

“Oh girl you’re in for a big lose, and you gonna tell me how Daniel kiss” he couldn’t help it, he had to tease her

“If You’re so curious try it yourself”

Max stared at the monitor in front of him with open mouth, watching himself losing over and over again because the girl in front of him wanted to see it multiple time, in that moment she was recording it with big smile on her face.

“This is unbelievable, how could you? you’re indeed Vettel’s daughter” he was still in pure disbelief.

“What a sore loser” she teased while sending the video to her dad.

“What are you even going to do with this video?”

She smirked “hmm nothing just sent it to my dad and asked him to show it to Lewis”

“You did not”

“Ah you got me, I did send it to my dad, just not the Lewis part, but I definitely shared it to my Instagram story”

She went behind Max and pushed him to walk “Cmon Maximus let’s go, you owe me a Mojito”

Max would be lying if he says he wasn’t enjoying her company, it was totally worth it making his trip longer. Kelly being the perfect girlfriend, she totally understood and even told Max to give her updates about the whole thing. While both of them were sipping their drinks, his phone rang.

On the other side of the line Charles, Lando, Carlos and Sebastian were all sitting in a hotel room, waiting to know what happened.

“Max, hey mate what’s going on?”

“Hey man, we are drinking, just finished karting”

“Oh so she is with you? How’s she doing?”

“Yes, we’re fine”

With her there, Max felt like he can’t comfortably pour everything out.

“Ok ok just give me yes and no, she accepted what you said?”

“Yes”

It felt like the room exploded, but silently, Carlos and Lando high fived each other, Charles punched the air, happy that his master plan worked, and Seb couldn’t believe her daughter actually listened let alone accepting it.

“Since mission was successful, I won’t tease you about losing in karting.”

Max gave her a “I will show you” look and hanged up.

“Thanks to your dad and you Charles knows about karting”

“I totally did that on purpose, by the way, when are you leaving?”

“Tomorrow’s night”

“Wait that’s too early, you just came here to talk me into giving Daniel a chance?”

“Well basically yeah”

She pouted, she didn’t want her new best friend who happened to be a Formula 1 driver to leave so soon “that’s not fair”

“Now if you wanna see me you will come to Mexico grand Prix” he smiled in victory

“You’re literally intolerable”

Daniel was in Australia, he didn’t want to be in Austin, he didn’t want to be in Monaco, he wanted to be in Australia in his ridiculous farm with his ridiculous animas to maybe forget how ridiculously in love he was. In that moment he was sitting on a wooden swing with Michael standing next to him.

“Daniel at least train” all Daniel did was shaking his head and opening his Instagram to look at hers for 10th time on that day, and he noticed she has posted a story. For a moment he forgot his sadness when he heard her laughing and saw Max’s disappointed face every time he saw himself losing, Daniel laughed loud “she beat Max in karting, I’m so proud that’s my girl” he stared at the screen lovingly.

Michael shook his head, fully convinced that his friend was long gone “you look like a lovesick puppy”

“I am lovesick, and I am a puppy, look I can bark, Michael did I tell you about-“

“Daniel you talked about anything that happened about 10 times, I understand you love her but you have a race and you need to get over her, please, I beg you”

Daniel slowly slid down the swing “it’s not that easy, I don’t know what’s wrong with me, all my brain can comprehend is the kiss”

“I know it’s hard, but training will get your mind off it for few hours, come on do it for her”

The last part of the sentence got him laughing “fine fine, I’m coming”

Few hours later, training hasn’t done shit for him, Daniel could not get her out of his mind, it was physically impossible. He wanted to hug her tight, he wanted to see her face when he would give her the slightest attention and her face would lit up. He needed to pull her close and kiss her and other stuffs.

She was all alone with her thoughts when Max left, she didn’t know what or how it happened but somewhere along the way the switch between “celebrity crush” and “love of my life” changed. Suddenly the posters of Daniel on her wall wasn’t just a poster of her favorite driver, the number 3 as her Lock Screen wasn’t just a number of a car. In that moment she was in class, her hand under her chin as she pretended she is very interested when in fact her brain was reminding her of the kiss and everything that happened. The picture of Daniel looking like that was tattooed inside her brain, but the moment when she knew the answer to a question without listening was the reason she didn’t pursue her heart, she was once again reminded why she was there and what was her purpose. She wasn’t force to forget him, she could always live with him being somewhere close in her memory and mind. She did all she wanted, saw him, hugged him, kissed him, took pictures that one of them was her wallpaper and she kept unlocking her iPhone to check the picture. But yet she couldn’t control her heartbeat anytime she would see it. In that moment all she knew was, she felt absolutely ridiculous and lost.

She was on her bed, her laptop on, watching drive to survive and crying when Nina showed up “how many times have you watched it? And why are you crying?”

She sniffed and picked a tissue “because he is always happy and he smiles so pretty and I love how happy he is when he gets a podium, and above all I can never have him, and to answer your question I don’t know 10?15?” She was back to crying right after.

“If you love him so much, why don’t you go to him?” Nina asked, genuinely confused why she was torturing herself and the poor guy.

“Because it can’t work out, our goals are different, I’m a doctor, he is a driver. I work at a hospital and I can’t even take a time off to shower, how am I supposed to make it work? It will bother us more”

“Ok those are fair points, but you don’t have to answer instead of him, you know?”

Her answer was too logical for her broken heart “I don’t think I’m going to do something about it, I’ll just wait until I forget it you know?”

Nina sat next to her on the bed, touching her hand “you do whatever makes you happier, in that moment I, coincidentally Max too, think that Daniel makes you happy but if you don’t want to go for it, we all understand. It’s your call”

She smiled in appreciation and went back into watching the episode.

She felt Daniel’s warm hand tracing her spine and massaging her sour back, Halloween night been busy with kids in E.R and when it was over she was drained. She moved her face to have a better view of his lips, she has never kissed lips like his, it was so special and soft, locking with her so perfectly, the way he would suck her lips in a kiss was addictive, she couldn’t get enough of the way he pushed himself to her. With him there she was feeling needy, it wasn’t easy to have self control when Daniel Ricciardo was lying next to you, shirtless with only underwear, showing off his glorious abs and his hand slowly making it’s way to your underwear to give you a banging orgasm.

She loved when he took care of her like that, when his long fingers are dedicated into making her his, having her dripping wet all for him. She hissed and arched her back when she felt his finger in her underwear, delicately rubbing her,

“You look pretty like that” he couldn’t help but to mention, her face had the expression of pure delight, eyes closed, her teeth biting down her lips. In his reply she opened her eyes and looked at him lazily, too tired to move or too speak. She just wanted to enjoy this. She brought up her hand and touched his cheek, the gesture made Daniel’s heart leaping in his chest in a way that 300 kph couldn’t. To show his appreciation, he slipped a finger inside, slowly pumping in and out.

“Holy fuck Daniel, oh god, that feels so good”

His free hand grabbed her waist and pulled her close, pressing his lips against her but not kissing it, he just wanted to feel the softness of her lips, to feel her soft moans better. He added a second finger and she whined while their lips were connected, for a moment Daniel couldn’t believe she was there and it was him who were making her feel this way. He separated from her to give her a praise “that’s my pretty girl, you’re doing so well, open your eyes look at me”

When she was met with a pair of honey brown eyes, she swore she could come due to the intensity of the eye contact.

Daniel moved his fingers a bit faster, determined to make her come hard, a moan would leave her throat anytime he would move his fingers, he watched as her hand grabbed his biceps, her eyes shut intensely, she moaned his name and came hard.

Daniel finally kissed her “you’re so wrong if you think that was it-“

She woke up. Sweat dripping off her forehead and completely out of breath. Her mouth was dry, she didn’t need to check her underwear to see how wet she was from the dream. Her eyes went to the posters on the wall and she blushed hard. All the effort she made to forget him turned to ashes with just one dream, a dream she wouldn’t mind becoming reality. She sat on the bed for few seconds, whispering “oh my god” under her breath, her mind still trying to recover from the dream but instead she was having more thoughts.

Daniel felt tipsy, he was in a hotel room during Mexico race weekend with Charles, Max, Lando, Carlos and Michael. He couldn’t even remember whose hotel room it was. He was talking about the day he saw her to Lando and Carlos, even though Max and Charles were there they still liked to hear it from his point of view. He spoke of her with such a passion and love that if Sebastian was there, he would have thrown Daniel down the stairs. The group of friends were more than thankful that tomorrow they didn’t need to drive. As Daniel continued talking about her, Max felt mischievous, he picked the phone up and called her.

She was sipping a very awful coffee in hospital when her phone ranged and Max’s name showed up, they had spoken few times but a call at this time of the night was bizarre. She answered the phone, she heard someone shushing her and next thing she heard was Daniel’s voice. In that moment she truly realized how much she missed him. Even his voice sounded so good and she felt like she could cry when she heard him laughing. She then realized he was talking about the day they met “Man I really wish she could be here for the race you know?” That sentence was the best thing she has ever heard, maybe after all people were right and she needed to speak with him. In that moment she finally realized what would make her happy.

Max left the room to speak with her without anyone noticing “was that enough confirmation for you to decide what you wanna do?”

“Maximillian, fuck you and thank you”

————————————

Tag list: @grapejuicegirly @ccloaned @rosee-sensuelle​ @itsjustmyopinionf1 comment if you wanna e tagged for next chapter

Let me know what you think, and tell me your favorite part👀

I’m absolutely speechless at this shitshow and fuckery like??? Just what the fuck? He literally had an accident yesterday and this is what McLaren has to say?

https://t.co/NU1OQelw3x

The Race

Brown hints at 'mechanisms' to end Ricciardo deal early - The Race

Though it's committed to making their partnership work, McLaren has acknowledged "mechanisms" for an early split with Daniel Ricciardo.